1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to computer simulations in general, and in particular to a method and system for simulating computer networks and computer network components. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system for simulating a computer network to facilitate testing of computer network security.
2. Description of the Related Art
As more and more computer networks are linked to each other through open computer connections such as the Internet, the demand for computer network security has also increased accordingly. When using a computer network, most computer users, including both home and business users, want to protect the data in their computer systems from unauthorized accesses. Current attempts to keep data secure within a computer network involve both hardware and software solutions. Hardware solutions typically include filtering data and blocking access from users outside of a trusted computer network. Software solutions typically include monitoring network data, performing authentication, and monitoring network traffic to detect unauthorized intrusion attempts.
Despite all the efforts used to secure data within a computer network, some skillful unauthorized users, such as hackers, may still be able to penetrate all network security measures within the computer network. Often times unauthorized users would exploit unexpected behavior in a network security component to gain initial access. In order to reduce the probability of unauthorized intrusions and accesses to a computer network, a computer network owner or an authorized third party may test the integrity of the computer network from a network security standpoint by, for example, attempting to gain access to the computer network in a manner similar to an unauthorized user. Hopefully, the test results can provide some information to allow the computer network administrator to locate all the network security loopholes within the computer network such that the computer network can be augmented with a higher level of network security.
The prior art methods for testing computer network security include the actual usage of an entire computer network or the simulation of an entire computer network via software simulation. However, each of the above-mentioned prior art methods has its own drawbacks. For example, the actual usage of an entire computer network to examine network security requires creating a replication of the computer network, exposes sensitive information to third parties, burdens the computer network, and/or may cause network instability. The usage of software simulations generally does not provide real-time results or the fidelity of an actual computer network. Consequently, it would be desirable to provide an improved method and system for simulating a computer network in order to on facilitate the testing of computer network security.